Would you love to live a life of choice? You can do this by being intentional about what is important to you, what your values are and how you live by them, and what you want to achieve.
Give yourself the gift of time. Time to step back from everyday life and reflect on how 2019 went for you and what made it the year it was. Based on this reflection, then revisit your core values, your personal vision which incorporates your work-life, and set your intention for 2020. A new year, a new decade and possibly a new or different you!
The success of this valuable exercise is determined by your self-awareness. Everyone brings value to the world – to and for yourself, your family, friends, work colleagues and also for the greater good. You need to take time to stop racing, rushing and doing, and just be still. Be still and know you are worth taking a few short hours for yourself.
To guide you in this reflection and intention-setting exercise I have prepared some important questions for you. Take time to consider your answers objectively and honestly – and then work through your values and vision, and finally set your intention in terms of what you want to achieve and develop your action plan to get you there, one step at a time!
Your Personal Values
You don’t create your personal values you discover them. They are like signposts that guide your behaviours, actions, and decisions. Knowing your values is part of building your awareness and understanding your motivations.
Your Personal Vision
While great leaders hold a vision that guides their team toward a compelling future, you too need a vision to guide you towards your ‘Future Self’.
To develop your personal vision statement, work through the following steps:
- List your life experiences related to your family, work, education, successes and your failures (where the best lessons are learned!)
- Define your passion and what you feel is calling to you – your personality, your abilities, what brings you alive, your spirituality and your sense of fun.
- List the five most important personal values, things such as honesty, respect, dignity, integrity, family, friends etc.
- Identify what motivates you – why do you do what you do; what inspires you to do more; what drives you etc.
- Look at everything you have written, notice areas of similarity and those areas which make you feel happy, joyful and energised. Now write your first vision statement. Your first one will be a draft, but as you write and review, it will become clearer and easier to develop. Make sure it provides you clear direction, with stated life goals set to timelines which you can manage and also make sure it is aimed at your personal growth and change.
- If you feel you would like to take this further and develop a Vision Board, take your vision statement and find strong, colourful and impactful images which represent your goals and put them on a board. Place the board where you will see it every day and it will serve as a reminder of the changes you are making in your life.
You have the opportunity to shape your future and to live the life you love – set your intention now, you are worth it!
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